


shall i stay

by rire



Series: VLD zine fics [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, Happy Birthday Keith (Voltron), M/M, Polyamory, a well deserved vacation, let them rest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2019-01-21 14:07:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12459357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rire/pseuds/rire
Summary: Keith can’t shake the feeling that something’s off. Shiro’s always nice, but even he seems to be taking extra care, touching him a lot more than usual. The difference is starker in Lance, who hasn’t said a single cutting remark towards Keith. It’s throwing Keith off, because his and Lance’s bickering, which took forever for Keith to embrace as good-natured playfighting, is one of the things he reluctantly enjoys about their relationship. But regardless of what they’re planning, he supposes he can humour them.In which Keith's boyfriends surprise him on a special day.





	shall i stay

**Author's Note:**

> happy birthday keith!!!!! my dear, sweet boy. i actually got ahead of myself and wrote this fic way back before keith's birthday had even been officially announced because i love him. it's just pure fluff because keith deserves all the love in the world.
> 
> thank you to Aphelion Zine for having me! preorders are over now, but everyone will be receiving their zines soon :)

There’s nothing out of the ordinary about the day itself. In the wake of Zarkon’s destruction, the defenders of the universe had taken to crushing emerging empires of evil and settling disputes. But with no distress signals coming from any surrounding planets, the team can take some time to train and hone their skills some more. At least that’s what Keith plans to do when, on his way to the training deck, his two boyfriends casually throw themselves in his way. Shiro, for his part, is just kind of swaying his arms at his sides. Lance, on the other hand, leans against the wall and strikes a pose of deliberate nonchalance, crossing his arms and raising a leg so his foot is pressed against the wall.

“Hey, Keith,” Shiro says, flashing him a warm smile. “How’re you doing?”

“Great,” says Keith, glancing with confusion between the two. “Was just about to hit the training deck. What’s up with you two?”

“Oh, nothing,” Lance says, waving a hand. His voice is strangely high-pitched, drawing out the vowels. “Just happened to be in the area, thought we’d check on you.”

Keith raises an eyebrow. “The area being the castle we all  _ happen  _ to live on?”

“Yes,” Lance says. “So what do you want to do today?”

“Me?” asks Keith stupidly.

Shiro laughs, the sound sending familiar warmth through Keith’s body. “Yes you,” he says, a hand settling naturally around Keith’s waist as he speaks. Lance pushes himself off the wall and snakes another arm around Keith’s shoulders, smirk creeping up on his face.

“We can hang out, if that’s what you’re saying. It doesn’t have to be about  _ me, _ ” says Keith, slightly bewildered. 

“But it is,” says Lance, and now  _ that’s  _ unusual. “We’re asking you where you want to go. It’s a rare day off from saving the universe. Don’t you want to enjoy yourself?”

“I— don’t really have anything in mind,” says Keith. “You can come with me to the training deck?”

Lance rolls his eyes. “Not that!”

Shiro chuckles and puts a hand on Lance’s shoulder. “If Keith wants to go to the training deck, we’ll go to the training deck.”

And so they do. It’s been a while, actually, since the three of them trained together. The past weeks have been pretty hectic— the band of fast-moving thieves that attacked several planets in a row took forever to track down. It’s nice to have time to themselves, Keith admits. The familiar back-and-forth of sparring with Shiro is just like how it was during their Garrison days. The two of them know each other intimately enough to be able to predict the other’s next move, and yet, because neither want it to be a mental game of chess, they go for the intended moves anyway, making the match very physical and a straightforward battle of strength and endurance. Shiro winds up his right arm ever so slightly— Keith recognizes this as the movement before a right hook, and blocks just in time. The motion calls to mind a time when Shiro used to hesitate slightly before using his right arm even in friendly sparring among teammates, as if, by using his Galra arm, he might somehow lose control to the monster in him. It had taken Keith and Lance lots of persuasion to convince him that monster did not exist. 

Shiro takes advantage of Keith’s hesitation to sweep him off his feet and pin him to the floor. Keith’s thoughts go down another track almost instantly. Shiro has become even more well-built, if possible. Suddenly, Keith’s not just sweating from physical exertion, but also the weight of Shiro’s toned chest pressing down on Keith’s own, Shiro’s arms pinned close on either side of his face. 

“My win this time,” Shiro says, voice low and just faintly suggestive.

“I wouldn’t say I lost, either,” says Keith, lifting a hand in a vague gesture referring to their current position.

“No?” Shiro tilts his head, cupping Keith’s jaw gently with his right hand. “I suppose we can call it a draw,” he says before lowering his head and kissing Keith on the mouth.

Keith is right in the middle of enjoying Shiro’s soft, warm lips on his own when Lance, who’d been lifting weights waiting for his turn, speaks up. “Get a room,” says Lance. “Preferably with me in it.”

“Come over here, then,” says Shiro with a smile, and Lance practically nosedives to plant his mouth on Keith’s.

-

“Okay, there’s got to be more,” says Lance, arms and legs crossed on the floor of Keith’s bedroom after they’ve all showered. “I know you’re not the most romantic guy, I mean, I learned that when you took us to the food court in the space mall on our first date. But you can’t be  _ that  _ boring— okay, I’ll stop.” Lance adds after being lightly elbowed by Shiro. “Really, though, what do you want to do? We’ve got more than half the day left. A movie? Romantic candlelit dinner? A really long, hard— stop it Shiro, I was going to say  _ cuddle. _ ”

Keith suppresses a laugh. “I just don’t know what the occasion is.” A thought strikes him, and his eyes widen. “Did I forget our anniversary again? Because I swear, I wrote it down after the first time—”

Shiro smiles. “Don’t worry babe, you didn’t,” he says, stroking Keith’s hair. “We just want to do this for you. Is there anywhere you want to go? Anything you want to try? The universe is our oyster.”

Keith thinks about it a little. He’s happy that they’re taking the effort, but he can’t shake the feeling that something’s off. Shiro’s always nice, but even he seems to be taking extra care, touching him a lot more than usual. The difference is starker in Lance, who hasn’t said a single cutting remark towards Keith at all until about five seconds ago, and even then he stopped almost immediately. It’s throwing Keith off, because his and Lance’s bickering, which took forever for Keith to embrace as good-natured playfighting, is one of the things he reluctantly enjoys about their relationship. But regardless of why they’re doing this or what they’re planning, he supposes he can humour them.

“Okay, there is one thing,” Keith offers. “I think it’d be nice to just… visit a planet with nobody on it. Just us. I kind of like the quiet. If there’s one nearby, and if you guys are down for it, maybe we could stop by.”

“Sounds good,” says Shiro with a nod. “I think I’d like that too.”

“Just one question,” says Lance. “If you guys like the quiet, why’d you date me?” The three of them laugh, together.

-

Their map tells them there’s a tiny uninhabited planet about half a varga away. They take the Red Lion, because Keith can get them there the fastest and the easiest. And because he likes flying. He usually takes Red for a spin to clear his head, or just to be alone for a bit. It’s an interesting but not unpleasant change to have Shiro and Lance hovering behind him, Lance telling stories of life back home that make Keith smile. Lance has a way of spinning stories that makes Keith feel as if he’s known Lance’s family all his life. 

They land on what resembles a beach, except the sand is a light shade of purple, and the seaweed sparkles. The sun, or whatever star is giving this planet its source of light, is just about to set, painting the sky a vibrant yet tranquil vermilion.

“Wow,” says Shiro, eyes scanning the surroundings with wonder.

“Nice place,” Keith agrees. He likes this planet, but he mostly likes seeing Shiro and Lance on this planet. The air is chilly, the cool breeze ruffling their hair, soft light caressing the curves of their bodies as they change out of their suits and into their swimming trunks.

A little reluctantly, Keith changes his clothes as well. Instead of going in the water, he sits on the shore, prodding the waves with his toes, and watches Lance and Shiro start a water fight. The playful splashes soon turn into something more serious, laughter ringing in the air as Shiro tackles Lance into the water. The two of them are gorgeous even, or perhaps especially, when soaking wet and howling with laughter.

This, too, is one of the things Keith enjoys about days off. Lance is always lightening the mood, but it’s a rare opportunity for Shiro, forced into a role of leadership so soon after captivity, to have the weight of the world alleviated from his shoulders, to loosen up and act the age he’s hardly ever allowed to.

“Help,” Lance croaks, head on the shore and body in the water. “Help. Hot lifeguard over there. Yeah, you. I need CPR.”

Keith sticks out his tongue at Lance, who laughs. “There’s a hot lifeguard right beside you,” he says, jerking his chin at Shiro. 

“Oh no,” says Shiro, voice laced with amusement. “I’m not trained in CPR, according to Lance. It has to be you.”

“Why?”

“Just get in the water, you killjoy,” Lance shouts.

Keith tenses up. “I can’t.”

“Why not?”

Keith huffs a sigh and looks away. “I can’t swim.”

Lance snorts with laughter, sitting up. “Of all the uninhabited ones that we saw on the map, you had to pick the beach planet even though you can’t swim? You a masochist?”

“It was for you,” Keith says. He’d thought that was obvious. “I figured it would be similar to where you used to live back on Earth.”

Lance blinks a couple times, as if it’s just now sinking in. “Oh,” he says almost shyly, scratching the back of his head. “Well—” He walks over and grabs Keith by the arm, back to his regular self again. “We’re going to teach you how to swim.” 

“Oh no,” says Keith. “No no no. I’m good. I’m really— Shiro!”

Before he can protest any further, the two of them— Shiro pulling most of the weight, naturally— have dragged him into the water. They’ve pulled him in deep enough that only his head is poking out, and his heart starts to race.

“We’re just gonna start with floating, alright?” says Lance. “Just let go of yourself, stretch your arms and legs out wide like a starfish.”

Keith swallows.

“I’ve got your back,” says Shiro. He carries Keith and lifts his body up to the surface. Logically, Keith knows there’s no way he’d drown. Especially with the reassuring presences of Lance and Shiro around him. Okay. He can do this. Tentatively, Keith sticks his arms and legs out, breathing in and out and trying to loosen his joints.

“Good!” Lance beams. “You’re doing it.”

“I’m letting go,” says Shiro, and slowly, he lets go of his hold.

“Whoa,” says Keith breathlessly. He’s floating. The sky looks massive from here, stretched out forever, the tips of Shiro and Lance’s heads tickling the periphery of his vision. “Whoaaaaa.”

“Not too scary, huh?” Lance says.

“Yeah,” Keith agrees, and then he starts to sink. Shiro catches him, of course. He’s still a little pissed, though, that he couldn’t hold the position for long.

“Don’t make that face,” Shiro says, poking a finger between his eyebrows, which he hadn’t realized were scrunched. “You learned a lot faster than I did. Why don’t we try it again?”

Nearly a varga later Keith has mastered the art of floating and also the art of kicking the water while holding onto Shiro’s shoulders. Tired, the three of them decide to end the swimming lessons for the day.

There’s some sort of weird plant that gives off warmth, and so the three of them huddle around it in place of a fire. Keith is toweling down his hair when Shiro, who’d been idly watching, suddenly plucks a flower from the nearby grass. It’s a luminescent, pinkish red, close to the colour of Keith’s suit. Shiro scoots close to Keith— wordlessly, though his eyes speak for themselves— and tucks the flower behind Keith’s ear.

“You killed that flower,” Keith says, throat dry.

“It died for a good cause,” Shiro responds with a wry smile. “I mean, I’d die for you, too.”

Keith punches Shiro in the arm, and then recoils when he hits metal. “Ow,” says Keith, ignoring Shiro’s muffled giggles. “Wrong arm.”

Lance, who’d hurried off somewhere, suddenly returns with a guitar. When he sees the scene before him, he points a finger, scandalized. “Shiro, you sneaky little—” 

Keith points at Lance’s guitar. “Where did you even get that?”

“Smuggled it into your lion,” Lance says, beaming proudly. “Don’t worry babe, I’ve got something even better than a flower.” He sits down, cross-legged, back straight, and clears his throat. “Anyway,” he says dramatically, “here’s Wonderwall.”

_ “Not again,”  _ says Keith exasperatedly.

“I’m just kidding! Chill out,” Lance laughs, the sound airy and cheerful, lifting Keith’s spirits. He can never get tired of Lance, he realizes, no matter how often he pretends to. “Okay, this one’s for Keith Kogane, the most beautiful boy in the universe, and it’s  _ not  _ Wonderwall. Here goes.”

Lance strums the guitar and starts singing, and Keith’s face goes red. He’s heard this one before— who  _ hasn’t _ — but he’s never, well, been serenaded with it quite like this.

_ “Wise men say _

_ Only fools rush in” _

Shiro hums along to the tune, pulling Keith’s head onto his shoulder. A breathtaking emotion that Keith can’t put a name to bursts like a wellspring in his chest, and a smile finds its way onto his face. It wasn’t a matter of picking the right planet. It wasn’t even a matter of picking the right date activities. Feeling at home, feeling like you belonged, was simply a matter of being with the right people.

_ “For I can’t help _

_ Falling in love with you” _

-

“Wake up baby, wake up!”

Keith, though only half-conscious, recognizes the voice hissing in his ear as Lance, and attributes the cause of the mattress jumping up and down to be Lance, vibrating like an excited little puppy. He doesn’t understand how Lance is so energized. He’d conked out as soon as they returned to the castle. Swimming was exhausting, and he doesn’t know how people did it. “Mmmmmmmfghh,” says Keith, nudging Lance away. “Let me sleep, it’s like midnight.” 

“Whoa, whoa,  _ whoa,”  _ Lance says, panicked. “You’re gonna set the bed on fire!”

“...What?”

“Open your eyes, Keith,” Shiro says, kissing him on the forehead. Keith blinks his eyes open blearily, and— there, hovering above him, held by Lance and Shiro, is a cake with lit candles.

“Happy birthday,” Shiro and Lance say in unison, smiles bright and happy. 

Keith sits up, careful not to hit the cake although he’s pretty sure he’s dreaming. “What? Are you sure it’s my birthday?”

“Well, we can’t be absolutely positive,” Lance explains. “I mean we tried calculating the Earth time in terms of Altean time and it was today. Pidge said it could possibly be a day or two off, but we’re ninety-nine percent sure it’s today?”

“So… all this.” Keith lifts his arms, then drops them, failing to fully convey what he intended to. “Today. All this was…?”

“Yes,” says Shiro, smiling warmly. “There’s not much in terms of romance out here in space, but I’d like to think we did our best.”

Keith looks at them, then looks at the cake— the uneven whipped cream, crooked fruits vaguely resembling strawberries nearly falling off its surface,  _ Happy Birthday Keith  _ written in cursive that was a messy mix of Lance’s and Shiro’s writing, as if they’d bickered over who got to write Keith’s name and then decided to split it in half. Keith’s vision blurs dangerously.

Lance waves his arms, panicked. “What— what’s wrong? You don’t like the cake? I know it’s not as good as Earth cake but Shiro and I worked really hard to make it! Hunk taught us. He was sad that he wasn’t invited to the party, but we promised to have an afterparty tomorrow and invite everybody else who’s not your boyfriend. Even the space mice.” 

“No,” Keith says through the water in his eyes, chest swelling with so much gratitude and affection that he feels like he is bursting at the seams. “I just can’t remember the last time somebody celebrated my birthday.” 

Shiro puts a hand on his shoulder. “We love you, Keith. Of course we want you to be happy on your birthday. It’s the least we can do.”

Lance sniffles and wipes his eyes furiously. “C-can you tone down the tragic backstory for one second?”

“Shut up,” Keith says, voice watery. “It’s not like I  _ chose _ to have a tragic backstory!”

“Make a wish already,” Lance says. “My arm’s getting sore.”

Keith scowls. “I think Shiro’s carrying most of the weight.”

“Want me to throw this cake in your face?” 

“Lance,” Shiro sighs, with the tone of somebody who’s fallen into routine and accepted his fate.

Keith laughs, heart bubbling with affection, and blinks to clear his eyes. He closes his eyes, makes a wish, and then blows out the candle. 

“What did you wish for?” Lance asks. “To finally be stronger than me? Cooler than me? Taller than me? Sorry, but tough luck.”

Keith quirks an eyebrow up. “I don’t need to wish for something I already have.”

“Watch it, Kogane! I’ll seriously throw this cake in your face.”

Shiro pushes the blankets aside and sets the cake down on the bed. In an instant, his Galra arm lights up and he slashes across the cake, cutting it into six surprisingly neat, equal pieces, and smiles at his handiwork. “Two for each of us.” He lets Lance lift up his Galra arm and playfully lick up the whipped cream, and Keith rolls his eyes. Shiro looks at Keith. “And don’t worry Keith,” he says mischievously. “Your secret wish to finally grow some stubble is safe with me.”

Lance rolls over, howling with laughter. Keith smacks Shiro on the shoulder.

“You guys are the worst,” Keith mutters under his breath. He smiles to himself, looking at Lance and Shiro laughing, eyes soft around the edges with genuine happiness.  _ Yeah,  _ he thinks.  _ I don’t need to wish for something I already have.  _

 

**Author's Note:**

> find me on [twitter](http://twitter.com/redbeantofu) and [tumblr](http://redbeantofu.tumblr.com)! 
> 
> if you enjoyed the fic, i'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments!


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